10 More Horror Movie Sequels That Had No Right To Be This Good

3. Saw X

Saw X Tobin Bell
Twisted Pictures

Should a horror franchise manage to stumble through to a tenth movie, most people wouldn't be expecting all that much from said film. Especially when, in the case of Saw X, that series hadn't been truly great for comfortably over a decade.

To the surprise of many, this year's Saw X is actually one of the better instalments in the entire 20-year franchise, and it manages to do that while taking a slightly different approach to prior Saw entries.

A prequel that has a lot more heart than one might expect - and obviously plenty of garish traps and bloodshed - here we find a John Kramer dealing with the stark reality of only having months to live due to his brain cancer diagnosis. Set between Saw and Saw II, and with Amanda Young as his apprentice, Kramer is afforded the hope of a miraculous recovery due to a Norwegian treatment that's somehow cured some of his fellow cancer patients.

Given how Saw X is still in theaters worldwide, it would feel a little harsh to go into any further plot details right now, but the end result is an extremely thoughtful, delicate entry in a franchise that eventually just became synonymous with nothing more than the standard trappings of the torture porn subgenre.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.